Aftermath
by Aromene
Summary: That missing scene between the end of the battle in Eclipse and Bella arriving at Jacob's house.


**Disclaimer: All owned and operated by Stephenie Meyer. But she didn't write this one. Either did Melissa Rosenberg.**

**AN: Three months ago I was as blissfully unaware of Twilight as someone can be who doesn't live on a deserted island. Ignorance was probably better.**

**I won't pretend that I have much experience writing in the first person. It's a POV I tend to avoid at all cost, because I find it awkward in many cases and it doesn't lend itself to description (which I love) well. But since first person is pretty much Twilight...I tried my hand at it, with some limited success!**

Bella's POV

There is nothing I can really do but stand here and listen to the young vampire scream as Felix carries out his duty. She can't have been more than eleven or twelve when Riley turned her. But I'm sure Carlisle and Esme could have trained her to be like them. There's no need for this. I can't help but wonder what lengths the Volturi will go to to ensure I become a vampire myself. I don't want to find out.

The screams leave a heavy silence in their wake. Jane is staring at me with cold red eyes, as if I were no more than an object of vague curiosity. She'd had a similar look on her face in Volterra.

'The date had best be soon,' her clear voice carries across the space between us. One last warning shot. I can feel Edward stiffen almost imperceptibly against me. His own glare at Jane could give her a run for her money.

Felix returns to her side. Jane seems to give the slightest nod to Carlisle before they turn their backs to leave. Against me, Edward relaxes. In seconds there are only the Cullens and I and a burning pile of vampire bodies.

'I must see to Jacob,' Carlisle's voice breaks through the silence. How have I forgotten about Jacob in only a few minutes?

'Carlisle,' Edward starts, moving slightly away from me. The patriarch of the Cullen clan turns to look at us, his question unspoken to everyone except my boyfriend.

Edward's hand is gripping my arm, the cold touch noticeable even through the thick layer of the jacket I stopped to grab before we'd raced from the campsite. His fingers are firm, but gentle and carefully avoiding the ragged cut the stone has left.

I can see where this is going. 'Edward, I'm fine,' I say and try to untangle my arm from his grasp. 'It's just a cut. Jacob needs –'

But Edward isn't interested in what Jacob needs. He answers Carlisle's unspoken question. 'She cut her arm to distract Victoria.'

From the corner of my eye I can see Alice tugging Jasper away. Rosalie and Emmett are already on the far side of the clearing, sharing a moment of relief. Esme is still far too close.

Barely before Edward finishes speaking, Carlisle is at my side, pushing the dark maroon cloth out of the way to reveal the bloody scrap of torn shirt Edward had bound over the wound only minutes ago.

'I'm fine', I protest again, but it falls on deaf ears once more. I can't quite hold back the hiss that escapes me as Carlisle unties the makeshift bandage to reveal the cut. I haven't even stopped to look at it. It's a jagged wound about an inch across and though not deep, it's still sluggishly bleeding. Esme has taken a few good steps back and Alice and Jasper have disappeared from sight altogether.

'It isn't deep,' Carlisle admits. 'I need to return to the house for my bag. I'd best take the car to the reservation.'

'That's a good idea,' I interject, before Edward can get there. 'Jacob needs you. I can manage a small cut.' I make a shooing motion. Carlisle allows a small smile to grace what has until now been a very severe expression. Slowly the tension of the battle and the unexpected visit from the Volturi is ebbing.

'Yes, you're right. Edward, you can see to this,' he motions at my arm, still held within my boyfriend's grasp. He probably says something else in his head, because it's a few seconds longer before Edward nods.

Carlisle takes off towards the house with Esme keeping pace, leaving the two of us alone in a clearing reeking of burned vampire.

'Can we get out of here?' I ask. 'I could really use a hot shower.'

Edward smiles. 'First, I will clean this. And then you can have the longest bath in history.' He stops to tie the bloody bandage back around my arm and tug my sleeve down over it before lifting me onto his back.

By the time we make it back to the house, everyone but Carlisle is there. Edward leads me upstairs to the study and judiciously helps me out of the jacket that failed to keep me warm the night before. The cuff of my left sleeve is now bloody too. Somehow, Carlisle has still found the time to leave out the necessary items on top of his desk. Edward makes short work of cleaning the wound, pressing a piece of gauze slathered in antibiotic gel over it before wrapping it in clean bandages. It's going to have to be a bath, because there's no way I can have a shower and keep the gauze dry.

'See,' I nudge him when he's done, 'just as good as Carlisle could do. Those medical degrees are coming in handy.'

'I rather wish they wouldn't,' he comments dryly. In the next second he has me pressed hard against his chest, arms holding me with almost bruising force. 'God, Bella, I thought –' He can't seem to finish the sentence, but I can guess what he'd thought. I'd been thinking along similar lines as Victoria tried to rip his head off.

'It's okay. We're fine, everyone's fine.' Except Jacob, but he will be, I hope. 'It's over.'

He doesn't release me until a soft knock on the door interrupts us, though he must have heard her coming.

'Hey,' Alice says, 'there's a lovely warm bath ready for you Bella.'

'Thanks Alice, but I really need to see Jacob.'

'You're chilled and dirty and you need to relax first. Jacob's in good hands.' There is only so much arguing that you can do with Alice and chance winning, and this is not one of the winning times. I sigh heavily, but Edward is pushing me towards the door with a gentle hand and it would be nice to sink into a hot bath and warm up after last night.

It's also Carlisle and Esme's bathroom she leads me too. 'Um, won't Esme want a bath?' I ask.

Alice laughs, once again her usual self. 'She's already using mine and Jasper's. She said you can use this one. It's the biggest tub in the house. Take as long as you'd like. There are towels there,' she points to the stepped corner of the massive tub, where a stack of fluffy green towels sit. 'I put lavender scent in the water. It'll be nice and relaxing; just don't fall asleep!'

All I can manage is a sigh of contentment. I really do need this.

'Here,' she starts, as I unbutton the bloody shirt and tug it off she takes it from me and rolls it into a tight ball. I've long since stopped being self-conscious in front of my personal fashion designer. 'I don't think this one's worth keeping. I'll get rid of it before Jasper notices.'

'Um, thanks Alice.' Except that I liked that shirt. Not that she'd ever let me wear it again if she had any say in the matter.

'In you go. I'll bring you something to eat. Esme said she'd make lunch after her shower.'

'You guys really don't have to. It can wait till I'm clean.'

Alice looks at me hard. 'I'll bring you lunch.' I should know better than to try to argue. 'Go on, before the bubbles all burst.'

I'm still struggling out of my jeans and sneakers when she closes the door behind her. The bathroom is blissfully warm and the smell of lavender is already calming my frayed nerves. The thought of everything that's happened though is still enough to bring on a chill that even hot water can't quite wash away.

It's a struggle not to fall asleep in the warm suds scented with lavender. I'm just starting to drift away, despite attempts to stay awake, when Alice knocks softly on the door. 'Here,' she says unnecessarily and puts a plate of bite sized sandwiches and a glass of juice down on the side of the tub. 'Eat, you need it.'

'Yes, mother,' I intone with a sigh, but I _am_ hungry. It's been a long time since dinner at the campsite the night before. I had other things on my mind at breakfast. Alice doesn't leave, either, as if to make sure I eat. I pick up a small square of sandwich – cucumber, honestly – and down it in two bites. Alice smiles winningly.

'I'll leave you to it,' she says.

The rest of the sandwiches disappear just as quickly and the sugar in the juice is enough to stop the slide into sleep that is still threatening. I really don't need to pass out in the bathtub and drown. Edward will never forgive me.

The water is still a long way from cold when I finish, but I really need to see Jacob, and it's probably been long enough now that Carlisle's done...treating him. I won't let myself think about what that involves, in an effort to keep lunch in my stomach where it belongs.

The towels are just as soft and fluffy as they look. I pull the plug on the drain and work to dry my hair off. My jeans are in the corner with my trainers, but there's also a clean shirt and sweatshirt that Alice must have grabbed out of my sleepover bag. Hurrying into the clothes to avoid the slight chill in the bathroom I have another go at my hair. It's half dry, which will have to do. It's been an hour at least since we left the meadow and I need to see Jacob; to make sure he's alright; physically as well as emotionally.

I grab the empty plate and glass on my way downstairs. Everyone is in the living room, talking quietly.

'Thanks for the bathtub, Esme,' I say by way of greeting.

'Anytime, Bella dear. You needed it more than I did,' she says with her usual smile. The house is relaxed and the sense of relief from everyone is palatable. How much of that is just the natural relief that it's all over and we're all alright and how much is Jasper's influence is hard to say.

'I need to go,' I tell Edward and he nods. He knows there's no arguing with this. And he can't really stop me anyways, since he can't follow me across the border. 'I'll be back soon,' I promise. Turning around I find Alice holding my keys out to me with a smile.

'You'll get there just in time, I think. It's hard to see, with the wolves, but with the fact you're leaving now and what time I see Carlisle getting back, I think it works.'

'Thanks Alice,' I tell her honestly and head out to the truck. The drive out to La Push isn't long, especially when I push the truck nearly to its max. I keep expecting to pass Carlisle's Mercedes on the way, but it's still parked in front of Billy's house when I pull up. Quickly counting heads as I get out, it's obvious that everyone is still outside waiting. A second later, when the scream echoes from inside, I realise why. It's an effort not to flinch.

Oh Jacob, please forgive me for this. Most of the pack ignores me, suffering the presence of the 'vampire girl', who they probably blame for this whole mess. 'It's been going on for a while,' Quil is the one to answer my unspoken question. 'Doc's re-braking most of his bones.' That does make me flinch.

'Why did he have to bud in –' Leah starts. 'I could have taken that tick –' Jacob's in there screaming and Leah's still going on about her pride?

'Oh, give it a rest, Leah,' Paul scolds her.

A moment of awkward silence is interrupted by Carlisle and Sam exiting the house. I allow one moment of thought to the fact that I have just spent an hour in a bath and still look like a drowned rat and that Carlisle wouldn't have even stopped to comb his hair on his way to see to Jacob and yet still looks perfect. Soon enough, my brain butts in. Occupied with the comparison between vampire and human, I've missed whatever Carlisle has said to Billy, but the two are now shaking hands. Who would have thought that something so good could have come out of a battle like this? I hope the goodwill continues for a while.

Carlisle's gaze slides over to me, and I can tell in the briefest glance he's doing his own inventory of my condition. Apparently satisfied, for now, he nods with a slight smile. 'He's asking for you.' A part of me I didn't realise was nervous breathes a small sigh of relief. At least he wants to see me. Billy's nodding too, telling me to go in. It still takes a deep breath of courage to enter the house. I need to do this, I know that, but facing Jacob after everything and knowing it's my fault makes it hard. But even if he won't listen, I have to apologise.


End file.
